Device for heating liquid food
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heating technologies for liquid foods, particularly milk, face issues such as large volume rinsing and cleaning requirements, milk deposit formation, limited temperature due to thermal mass, and destruction of milk foam when using steam injection, leading to inefficiencies and quality issues.
Innovation Solution
A steam-heated heat exchanger with two fluidically separated flow paths allows for controlled steam supply, reducing thermal mass and enabling higher temperatures without deposit formation, and separate paths for frothing and rinsing, with optional steam injection for reheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a flow-through heater with large surface area is used for heat exchange, then heating efficiency is improved, but the volume of milk that must be rinsed and cleaned increases, leading to greater milk loss during cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal parameter of the heater by using a thermoblock design with limited thermal mass and controlled heating zones, allowing the system to heat milk efficiently while minimizing the volume that requires cleaning, thus reducing milk loss during cleaning cycles
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the temperature of the instantaneous water heater is increased to reduce contact time and deposit formation, then deposit rate is reduced, but the thermal mass prevents cold milk from being dispensed, requiring additional switching valves
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into distinct heating zones within the thermoblock, allowing different sections to be heated to different temperatures or cooled independently, enabling cold milk dispensing without requiring additional external switching valves
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using high temperature to prevent deposits and accepting the need for complex valve systems to handle cold dispensing, the patent inverts the approach by using a thermoblock that can be rapidly cooled or kept cool in dispensing zones, eliminating deposits through controlled temperature rather than high heat, thus simplifying the valve system
3Speed
If direct steam addition is used for heating milk, then heating speed is improved and installation space is reduced, but milk foam is destroyed and steam hammer impairs dispensing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary heating mechanism where steam heats a heat exchange surface (thermoblock) which then indirectly heats the milk, rather than injecting steam directly into the milk. This intermediary approach maintains fast heating through steam's high energy density while avoiding foam destruction and steam hammer by keeping the steam contained in a separate heating circuit
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient, compact heating with higher product temperatures, retention of milk foam quality, and reduced cleaning needs, while allowing cold products to be dispensed without additional valves, and minimizing energy loss.
Implementation Method 1
a steam-heated heat exchanger which has two fluidically separated flow paths which are in mutual thermal contact
Implementation Method 2
the high condensation energy of steam allows for a higher energy density than electric heaters
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A device for heating liquid foodstuffs, in particular milk, comprises a pumping device for conveying the liquid foodstuff from a storage container to an outlet, and a heating device arranged between the pumping device and the outlet. The heating device is designed as a steam-heated heat exchanger having two fluidically separated flow paths in mutual thermal contact, wherein a first flow path is connectable or connected to a steam generator on the inlet side, and a second flow path is connectable or connected to the pumping device on the inlet side and to the outlet on the outlet side.